Looking for something to enliven your next local union meeting? Show one of the videos from the YouTube playlist [1] we put together, then have a discussion.

Inspiration

Bring in one of the guest speakers from UE’s 2021 convention! Watch AFA-CWA President Sara Nelson’s [2] rousing remarks on the power of workers to fight corporate greed, Dr. Linda Murray’s [3] explanation of the stakes that all working people have in fighting racism, or retired UE Political Action Director Chris Townsend’s [4] reflections on 24 years in the labor movement.

Education

The YouTube series The Class Room [5], a project of More Perfect Union [6], is full of short (10-20 minute) educational videos about a variety of contemporary topics. We’ve picked out two in particular — an entertaining exploration [7] of why most Americans can no longer afford to own a house and raise a family on a single income the way Homer Simpson did (hint: it has something to do with corporate greed), and a revealing investigation [8] of the role of corporate profiteering in current inflation.

Animation

The Simpsons didn’t invent animation! The classic UE animated film “Free Riding Rufus” [9] is a humorous look at the way free-riders weaken the union, and “The Myth, the Money and the Many” [10] refutes the big business lie that wages cause high prices — although more than half a century old, it is especially timely today. “Mouseland,” [11] an animated illustration of a 1944 speech by Canadian politician Tommy Douglas, explores what happens when a nation of mice keep electing “fat cats” to represent them — a message relevant to most of the political choices working people face in our two-party system today.

Labor History, Old and New

Watch the inspiring story of UE Local 1110’s 2008 occupation of the Republic Windows and Doors factory in Chicago [12], or a PBS special about Rose Schneiderman [13], a young immigrant seamstress who went on to be one of the most important labor leaders of the early 20th century. Or watch a famous speech [14] from the 1987 movie Matewan, about the struggle to organize coal workers in West Virginia, on the importance of uniting all workers.